Step Into XIII
by finem
Summary: Sora equals Roxas equals fashion model? [scents of RikuSora, AxDem friendship, crackfic] Inspired by Paradise Kiss
1. Prologue: Who?

**Standard Disclaimer:** Not mine…I cry

**Author Notes:** Ok…hello all! So this is a test. I'm working on this story and have been for a little bit, but it occurs to me that it's a little…odd…So I'm posting this prologue to see if I get any bites. If you like and want to see more…please review and let me know. Otherwise…I might let it go…

Step into XIII

**Prologue: Who?**

The Destiny Islands Youth Summer Adventure Camp, a place where kids could go to test themselves and test their limits. A place where memories were made and good times were found. A place…that was currently closed for business and crawling with flashing lights and rescue vehicles. This week, the camp had been rented by the Kingdom Hearts Children's Home, and while the children had enjoyed days fun and freedom in the hot summer sun and cool ocean waves, the last night ended with tragedy mere hours before the students were scheduled to head back to their home in the near-by city. Boats combed the water as on land, the worried campers whispered amongst each other seeking and offering comfort in turn; all except one who sat near a raging bonfire, wrapped in a blanket and refusing to sit with his other friends. A girl of 15 looked to her silent friend, eyes shining with worry for both her friend who was missing, and the other boy who was closing himself off from the rest of the group. Her father, the head of the Children's Home, was speaking with the authorities, and no one was paying her much attention, so she walked over to the silent boy, determined to get through to him.

"Riku, you have to stop this! You're not helping anyone by shutting down right now." He continued ignoring her never taking his eyes away from the crackling fire. "Riku, I know you can hear me and you are not getting rid of me that easily. I'm not going anywhere until you talk!"

"Leave it alone, Kairi." He said quietly. "This is my fault. He never would have been up there if I hadn't goaded him into it."

"Fine. You were both idiots for even thinking about climbing for paupu fruit in the middle of the night, but there's no way you could have know this would happen. I mean Sora's one of the best climbers we know, and you guys have been playing on those trees every summer for at least the past 5 years. What happened was a freak accident; nothing more. You can't keep blaming yourself." She kneeled in front of him looking the older boy in the eyes. "We have to focus on finding Sora, getting him back to us. We have to believe he's alright, or else we may never find him." The unshaken confidence in Kairi's eyes all but undid him. How could she be so sure?

"But, Kairi…" He was horrified to find that the words came out thick, trembling with emotion. "What if he's—" she put a hand to his lips halting the words.

"We have to believe, Riku." She told him with quiet faith. "Sora's gotta be ok. He'll come back to us. I know he will." The two teens looked to the flurry of movement in the waters as boats and divers searched for the body of a 15 year old boy with chestnut hair who had fallen from a tree, that was just a bit too close to the edge of a cliff, into the sea below. Kairi reached out and took Riku's hand with all the gravity of his fear and her faith, and silently, both prayed that no body would be found.

o-oOo-o

The sun was too bright. I really didn't appreciate the hot beams blazing through my closed eyelids, but the awareness of light brought with it an awareness of a number of other things that were rather…odd…

First of all, my head was aching fit to split. I couldn't remember ever waking with such a headache before and I sure didn't ever want to do it again. I'd have to figure out what I'd done to earn this level of 'ouch'. Secondly, I was asleep on the beach. I definitely didn't remember falling asleep on the beach last night…but then again, I couldn't really remember falling asleep at all last night. What had I been doing last night anyway? Thirdly, and not so much odd as urgent, I needed to use the bathroom, quite badly actually, and this is what finally spurred me into movement, something I regretted immediately. I made a mental note not to invest in a sand mattress anytime in the near future as my body made fairly pointed arguments against the idea, but not even protesting limbs could keep me from locating the nearest public resting facility as quickly as possible to handle the call of other, more persuasive, parts of my anatomy.

Beach bathrooms were sometimes gross and sometimes great. They were either big cement pins with open stalls and metal toilets that smelled of urine, or nice well-kept places that people might actually _want_ to utilize from time to time. The one that I ran across luckily fell under the 'great' category. There were fresh towels stocked for use, enclosed stalls and showers, the toilet paper was two-ply even! I must've wandered into a richer part of town. I made use of all of these amenities as my night on the beach had left me feeling a bit grubby. Someone had left their shampoo in one of the stalls and I used it as both soap and well…shampoo. By the time I was done in the bathroom, despite my still damp clothes, I figured I could actually pass as human on the way home. Problem was, I couldn't quite remember where home was.

I stepped out of the bathroom, absently slipping into a pair of sandals that were outside the door and took a better look around my surroundings. Nothing really looked familiar. That was a problem. Looking around a little more, I decided that maybe if I walked around a little, I might see something that could help me find my way home. Shrugging, I set off towards the busiest looking area I could see, hair and clothes drying in the already warming day.

o-oOo-o

"What are we doing here?" Axel asked his blond friend desperately trying to understand why he was giving up his Saturday morning of sleep to go wading through throngs of 'others' at 8AM.

"Research, my good man." Came his roommate's reply. "The show's in 2 weeks and the boss man is gonna keep being nuts unless we can find that 'something' that he's looking for. I know Marluxia and Xigbar are working on something together, but I had a bit of inspiration myself."

"And this inspiration involves me because…?"

"Hey, you're a part of this production too. I need someone to share my vision." Demyx replied with a grin.

"I'd rather be sharing a vision with my bed," the redhead replied blandly.

"Oh stop complaining and—"

"And what? Try to absorb to power of the rising sun? Wake my inner muse to the cry of nature? Demyx? Hello?" Axel'd been pulling his best melodrama just now and his friend wasn't even paying attention.

"Dude, check it." Demyx said grabbing at Axel, eyes fixed on something ahead of him.

"What?" he asked, looking in confusion, then he saw what Demyx was looking at…or rather, who. There was a boy wandering the streets not far ahead of them, a slightly confused look on his face, eyes vaguely vacant, but the most amazing shade of blue that even from a distance was easily visible.

"That," Demyx said clutching his friend excitedly, "is the face of 'Nobody'" and before Axel could say anything, the smaller blond had dashed off towards the strange boy.

o-oOo-o

I hadn't been walking for that long, but it was becoming more and more apparent that it wasn't just the unfamiliar surroundings that were throwing off my ability to find my way home. I was finding that I was having a difficult time even remembering what home looked like, or where it was, or even who was there. There was definitely something bizarre going on here. I was just getting into the really confusing parts in my head when I suddenly found a bright face and a shiny smile leaning in front of me.

"Hi!" the face said brightly. "How's it going?" I wasn't quite sure how to deal with Mr. Bright and Shiny, and my brain wasn't working at its best capacity at the moment, so all I could manage was a vacant stare.

"Oh my god you're PERFECT!" the bright guy suddenly shouted, and I backed off slightly, wondering if Mr. Bright and Shiny wasn't actually Mr. Bright and Crazy.

"God, Demyx. What are you trying to do, freak the kid out?" Another unfamiliar voice added itself to the conversation and I looked up to find a taller man with jagged red hair to just above his shoulders leaning on the other man's shoulder. I noticed for the first time that the other man was blond, (no wonder he seemed so bright) the sides of his head saved short while a single band of hair remained longish, pulled into a short tail with a few wisps escaping to brush across his face.

"Hey, I'm Axel," the tall redhead said, "and this bone-head is Demyx." They both extended their hands and I shook them in turn. "We're students at the Twilight Academy of Design, and what this one was trying to say, if he had a brain, was that we'd like you consider modeling in our upcoming show." I stared at the two older men, not sure I understood what they were saying and I articulated my confusion in the most eloquent way I could.

"Huh?"

"See!" the blond leapt into action again. "That look! Right there! Can't you see that face and those eyes plastered all over campus?! He's a little short, but we can deal with that, and we've got more than enough clothes and tailors to do the adjusting and…" As the blond continued to ramble, Axel leaned down and spoke to me directly.

"Look, our school is just a few blocks down the way. I swear this is legit. He's a little crazy, but we're not psychos. Would you at least come talk to our superior and see what he thinks, hear what he has to say and then you can do whatever you need to make your decision?" I looked at Axel and at Demxy who was now scribbling into a small note pad as he spoke. They couldn't be more than a couple of years older than me, and they seemed nice enough. I found that I really wanted to get to know them better so…

"I guess you guys can't be too dangerous." I said, finally managing to string together a real sentence for them. It's not like I had anywhere to go anyway. Things still weren't quite making since in my head. "I'll go talk to your 'superior' or whatever. Why not, right? Everyone dreams of being a model at one point or another."

I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when I found myself being dragged excitedly along the busy streets, dragged past people and places that I didn't know, Demyx rambling all the way. Off I was whisked to the Twilight Academy of Design to meet a stranger who might want to put me, an unknown nobody, on a model's stage. It wasn't until I was in an elevator trying to figure out how I'd introduce myself to this stranger that I realized that I didn't even know my own name.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** So there you have it, the basic premise of the tale. Interested? Want more? You'll have to tell me, so review and I promise to get cracking on continuing this. Otherwise, I'll explore some other concept instead…I guess


	2. Step 1: What?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine! But man….so fun to play with!

**A/N:** So I got a few nibbles and decided to continue posting, but unless there's a sudden insurgence of interest, this'll probably just be a side project I work on as time and inspiration permits. Thanx to **Lokotei** and **xILLuSeNx **for your input. You're the main reason I'm posting this, so this is going out to you guys!

Step into XIII

**Step 1: What?**

Luxord stared blandly at his friend and Director wondering if at last the man had crossed that fine line between genius and insanity. They were pressed for time. They were pressed for money, so surly, he could not have heard what he though he heard pass from Xemnas' lips.

"You want to do what?" He asked to confirm that he was in fact hearing things.

"You heard me the first time and you know how I hate to repeat myself." Xemnas replied acidly.

"I asked because I know you're not an idiot, and what just came out of your mouth has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"I didn't ask for your opinion on my intelligence, I asked if it was within our budget."

"Well then the answer is no! Even if we could find that many doves anywhere near-by, we'd hardly be able to rent them all! Do you know how expensive that would be?! Not to mention the mess it would leave, the handler fees, the clean up expense, the smell!"

"We get the point number X." Said a quietly controlled voice from the blond's left.

"What?" he snapped, miffed at being interrupted.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed." Saïx continued. "your ranting is only wasting our time."

"Drop it!" Xemnas snapped, before his financial head could respond to his second. He changed subjects fast enough to give an average brain whiplash, but thankfully, the brains in the room were anything but average and followed their leader with ease. "Vexen. What is the status on publicity?"

"The concepts that I showed you earlier haven't changed," the other blond in the room sighed. "You don't like any of them, and I'm reaching my limit. There's only so much one can do without more direction."

"Direction." Xemnas spat the word like a curse. "If I had direction we wouldn't be here right now! There's something missing, but I can't see it!" He was on his feet pacing the room again like a cage beast, seeking something to destroy and finding nothing. The other three men exchanged helpless looks. This was getting them nowhere. They had been in this room everyday for the past week trying to get clear orders from the head of their project group, but he'd been all but useless every time they asked. He claimed that they couldn't proceed with preparations until the exhibition was "whole," meaning whole in _his_ eyes, but the last piece had been eluding him which left the rest of the group stuck.

"Xemnas," Vexen called to their restless leader, "we're running out of time. Decisions need to be made and there are those in the group prepared to make them with or without you. This is your vision, your legacy, and most importantly, your grade. If you keep stalling like this, you're not going to graduate and that means that the rest of us who are counting on you won't graduate either. You're being an idiot. Just let it go. The show is going to happen whether you figure out your missing whatever or not, and if we're not ready, we're all screwed."

The words had halted Xemnas' manic pacing, but he now stood facing the large bay window in the nook where they were meeting, back to the rest of his board of executives. Vexen was right of course. Even if they started working immediately, it would be a close call to get this show finished and ready for the stage in the two weeks they had left. He'd been waiting and waiting for the final piece to click, but his masterpiece still lay incomplete, and it seemed as though it would stay that way. The show would go on whether it was to his vision of perfection or not, and with the way things were going now, he'd lose out on any chance to come even close. Maybe he really was just being too stubborn…maybe it was time to let go.

The other three men in the room shared nervous glances, hiding crossed fingers beneath note-pads and half eaten bagels. Their leader stood for a long time thinking in silence, and he seemed to be coming to a conclusion. In their minds they were envisioning themselves at graduation having completed one of the most successful final shows in the history of their academy; they could almost feel the stand-in scrolls of parchment in their hands…all Xemnas had to do was give a little…just a little. They could almost see the moment when he decided to do what was best for his team. The dream became clear and so close within their reach. Their Superior was turning to give them his answer when the beautiful vision of sweet freedom was shattered by a knock at the door. Xemnas turned his attention to the door at the far end of the room, and three pairs of eyes glared daggers ready to maim whoever had stolen their dream when it had been so close. Demyx and Axel entered the studio without further prompting, a young rumpled teenager held between them, his shoulders slumped and eyes down cast.

"Hey, boss-man!" Demyx called cheerfully unaware of how close to dismemberment he was, "Wait till you get a look at this!"

Xemnas barely heard the words. His nostrils were flared in indignation at the appearance of the stranger, spouting of enough fire to singe the eyebrows of everyone in the room.

"What is the meaning of you bringing _that_ into this space." He breathed dangerously. "How dare you taint the energy we've created here with--" He never finished the thought. The teen's head had snapped up in fury at Xemnas' casual insult so that he was now glaring at the older man...and everything in the room stopped.

"Well I'll be damned." Luxord murmured into the silence.

"See Axel," Demyx nudged his roommate in the side. "We did good."

o-oOo-o

I know that I had been pissed off just a second ago. I'm pretty sure I'd just been referred to as a thing and lost a few hairs from eyebrows somehow before that, both of which I think are good grounds for being raging pissed, but then, all eyes in the room were on me, and I suddenly felt like a steak in the middle of a room of half-starved hyenas, and it's hard to hold onto rage when you're worried about keeping your insides in and your heart from lodging itself permanently in your throat.

"Where did you find him?" asked the creepy jerk who'd just been talking about me as if I were last weeks garbage. I'd have to remember to glare at him a lot for that later. At the moment, my mind was doing a fair imitation of a drunken chokobo at a petting zoo; stumbling in circles and getting nowhere very slowly.

"Down by the pier." Demyx replied, and I could hear the grin in his words even thought my eyes were trained on the creepy jerk in front of me. "He was just wondering around on the streets. What you think boss-man? Will he do the trick?" Creepy-jerk was eyeing me now, and this time I felt like the proverbial blonde in a bad B movie. This guy was the psycho in the shadows, and if I wasn't careful, I'd trip over nothing and find myself dragged of to who knows where never to be heard from again. I was working my way back to that glare when he sucker-punched me with a question I should have expected.

"What's your name, boy?" I did the blank staring thing and didn't even realize I was going to answer until the words. "I don't know" left my mouth. His eyes suddenly turned feral, and in my mind's eye, I realized that the blonde was caught by the hair.

"Where are you from?" He asked, and I repeated my response. A strange smirk was pulling at the sides of his mouth as his eyes continued boring into mine. "You remember nothing of your past then." He said. I nodded in response as if he had asked a question. This whole situation was beginning to make me very uncomfortable. It didn't seem right to be there with so many details missing from my life. Others in the room seemed to think differently.

"A boy with no past and no name; eyes as empty and blue as the sky above." Creepy-jerk was getting creepier now. He had begun walking around me, though I knew that his eyes never let up in their scrutiny. "This is no coincidence. You, child, are in essence, nobody, and your destiny has brought you here. You are the missing piece, the completion, the _key_ to this entire production, and you will stay here with us until this tale has found its end."

He had made it back to my front as he finished speaking and was boring those strange golden eyes into my own. I still thought the guy was a jerk, but there was something oddly compelling about him. I nodded once, without even needing to think about it. Of course he was right. I belonged here…it was my destiny. He smiled that feral grin again, then turned away addressing Demyx and Axel.

"I leave him in your care." He said. "Send him to Marluxia at once to do something with that rat's nest on his head and see to it that he gets a uniform, and a decent pair of shoes." He scowled down at my flip-flopped feet as he said that last part. He turned his gaze to me once more, eyes narrowing slightly as if he were pondering something. "You will need a name while you are with us." He said. "Sora, for the blue of your eyes, but like all others here, you must adopt a persona that belongs to the Organization alone. Yes…We will notify the others immediately that we have finally found our thirteenth…Roxas. Welcome to Organization XIII.

o-oOo-o

As soon as Axel and Demyx had exited with the new boy Xemnas turned once again to his executives, a look of near divine ecstasy transforming his features.

"At last all is clear to me. This is what we have been waiting for. This will be the greatest production this school has ever seen, and through this my friends, with that boy's help, we will become immortal." The others ignored his ranting and looked to each other in quiet relief. The shatterd pieces of the dream reformed and shone brighter than ever. Finally, they'd be able to make some progress on this last and most important project of their college lives. "Vexen, I want those eyes everywhere. By the end of the week, there will be no one on this campus whom that vacant stare has not fallen upon."

"On it," Vexen replied, already sketching ideas into a notebook.

"Xemnas." Saix interjected putting forth a detail that his superior seemed to be overlooking. "You know that boy belongs somewhere. There will be people looking for him."

"Then we'll just have to be sure they don't find him for the next 2 weeks," was Xemnas's silky reply.

"And you don't think that's just slightly…immoral?" Luxord asked.

"Morals are for people who aren't trying to graduate. We'll worry about morals later. For now, we have a show to plan and not a whole lot of time to figure out the final details. I'm sure whoever's looking for him will still be there when this project is over."

"You're the boss." Was the budget man's response. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Finally." Vexen murmured under his breath.

o-oOo-o

The past couple of hours had been like some kind of twisted goth-fantasy-horror. If I could actually remember my name, I'd have been cussing myself to the Underworld and back. Had I really agreed to all of this? It had all happened so fast. There had been something so…soothing…and hypnotic about the words that jerk guy had spun, and before I knew it, I'd found myself in a bright room with a large poster, probably half again as tall as me, hanging on the back wall proudly proclaiming "defy misfortune STEP INTO XIII."

"It's our logo and slogan." Demyx explained when he saw me staring. "The boss-man came up with it along with Vexen, the guy with the long blond hair upstairs. It's the brand we've been flying under all year. I thought it was pretty lame at first, but it grows on ya."

"So wait." I said trying to get things straight in my head. "That's the logo for what exactly? Your boss said I'm the thirteenth right? In some kind of organization?"

"Organization XIII." Axel chimed in. "It's the name of our project group. The name of our final show is 'Nobody,' hence Xemnas' little joygasm and monologue about you and your 'destiny.'" So Creepy-jerk had a name. "Xemnas can be a bit intense…all the time, but he knows his stuff. He's one of the top students at our school, and believe it or not, people were screaming to get into his project group, even seniors who could have opted to have project groups of their own. I know things seem really crazy right now, but you've made it in among the elite, kid. I promise, once you get used to things around here, you'll be fine. You might even have some fun"

"Right…fun." I murmured rubbing at my still aching head. Everything had been just…surreal since I'd woken up on the beach. "So if competition was so tight, how did you guys get in? You don't really strike me as the screaming, hair pulling types." For some reason that got a chuckle out of the two of them.

"No," Axel smirked, "We don't do hair pulling. That's Marluxia's area of expertise."

"Mar-whodawha?" That couldn't possibly have been in any language I knew, but before either could explain, a voice rang out across the cavernous space.

"This him?" I turned to see who had spoken and froze. I was getting use to falling into that blank stare that got everyone around here so hot and heavy, because my brain was once again shorting out as it tried to keep up with all the data it was taking in. Maybe it was time to upgrade to a faster processor. A tall slender figure with layered powder-pink hair was approaching us with an impatient air.

"The Superior called me away from a shit load of homework for this, so it had better be good. Let me see him!" he snapped, and all I could do was continue staring blankly. From the tone of his voice, it was obvious that the newcomer was a guy, but he was hands-down the most beautiful man I had ever seen. I mean, the guy looked almost fake, like someone had enlarged and animated Pretty-in-pink Barbie. He was just wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, but even dressed down, he could give any of the models I knew of—male or female--a run for their catwalk. He only paused a moment when he saw my eyes, then with a non-committal grunt, grabbed my chin and started turning my head back and forth, eyes impersonally scanning my head.

"Yeah, this is him." Axel said un-phased by the other man's rude attitude. "Marluxia, meet our thirteenth. Roxas, _this_ is Marluxia" I saw Axel and Demyx share amused looks as Marluxia continued examining my head, and I could almost hear the gears in my brain screeching in protest as they pulled back Axel's comment from bare seconds before. Marluxia…hair pulling…I suddenly had a very bad feeling about the pink-haired man's eyes scrutinizing my head. After a small eternity of a minute or so, he let me go and backed away, a vaguely sick look on his face.

"Your hair is a disaster, but at least there is a lot of it," he murmured in distaste. Apparently I was going to have to get used to having my appearance insulted at first sight for the time being. It was a fashion school after all, and on my best days, I couldn't pass off as anything close to fashionable…not that I really had any clear memories to support that theory. "I suppose I'll manage," he sighed at length. "They don't call me a genius for nothing. Prep him," he snapped, then turned and walked briskly back the way he had come from, trailing the scent of cherry blossoms in his wake. I stared after him in wonder, but that only lasted a second because I was again being dragged off to god knows where by my two new companions. We didn't go far…didn't even leave the room actually. In the far corner, there was what looked like a small salon. There were four swiveling chairs sitting in front of a wall of mirrors and counters with enough styling tools scattered about to tame the hair of a small nation of moombas. Axel and Demyx led me to a chair then proceeded to lower the back, soak my hair and give me my second hair wash for the day.

Now, 2 hours later, I sat staring at the face of a stranger in the mirror barely able to speak, asking myself over and over how this had happened.

"Perfect!" Marluxia said, looking at my reflection over my shoulder. Axel and Demyx had vanished at some point into the haze of shampoo, conditioner, and heat setting, so I had been alone with the man for a while now. He'd worked in complete silence, shoving my head this way and that, never allowing me to see what he was doing. An hour into the process I had been ready to strangle him, no matter how pretty he was. There had just been snipping and combing and rinsing…and apparently bleaching.

"I'm blond." I finally managed to ground out through gritted teeth.

"So those eyes are good for something other than staring." He said, more than a slight sneer in his voice. "Did you really think you'd be allowed in this show with compost on your head?" I open my mouth to do something…I don't know what…maybe bite him, but he just kept talking like I wasn't even there. "This color will help bring out the rather unusual tone of your eyes, make it impossible to miss them. No one will be able to take their eyes off of you, and so of course, nor will they be able to forget you, and in this business, being memorable is as good a being made." I was opening my mouth again to respond when Demyx and Axel decided to make their re-appearance.

'DUDE! We're like twins!" Demyx cried as soon as he saw me, and I just sighed, resisting the urge to run my hand through my hair. The way that it was spiked up to one side, I was afraid I'd either cut my hand off or disrupt what had to be a very precarious balance which, I imagined, would lead to a swift death at the hands of the pink-tressed hair demon standing to my right.

"Are we done here? Can we go?" I groaned doing my best not to sound completely pathetic. Blessedly, someone out there took pity on my poor harassed brain, and Axel and Demyx led me away from Marluxia, his hair, and his damned salon to show me where I would be staying for the duration of my time with the Organization. This was going to be a long two weeks.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: **Wow…3,000 plus words. That's totally not common for me. Random as this story is, I kinda love the idea. I mean just look at the character designs for the Organization and tell me they don't belong on someone's runway. Anyway…reviews as always are indubitably appreciated and HIGHLY encouraged. It's nice to know if someone is actually enjoying this, cuz as I said in the prologue…it's kinda odd.


	3. Step 2: When?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine! But man….so fun to play with!

**A/N:** Right! So forever later, I decided to update this story. It's so random. I even confuse myself with why I'm writing this, but I know there are some readers still out there, and I'm still inclined to continue writing, so we'll see where this goes. Enjoy!

Step into XIII

**Step 2: When?**

In a quaint, quiet, clean-cut community known as Radiant Garden situated some miles outside of the wild and busy City of Twilight, there stood a sprawling country house, painted yellow and white and kept just as quaint and clean-cut as the community where it resided. Unlike the community, however, this house was usually anything but quiet. In front of the house hung a well-loved sign, weathered but regularly repainted to read "The Kingdom Hearts Children's Home." The house was home to almost 20 people, all with very different personalities and perspectives on life. Between the human occupants and the legions of recently acquired Dalmatian puppies, the house was often filled with enough laughter and youthful energy to lighten the heart of the average passer-by.

The Home was opened many years prior by a local church to offer services to troubled youths and provide a safe place for after-school studies and recreational activities. It was meant to be a home and safe haven for children of all walks of life. Unfortunately, the man who opened the house had a very large heart and fairly small brain. The location was chosen for its rolling acreage, its swaying willows, and overall soothing atmosphere. The fact that its location was too far from the city for it to be practically accessible to any of the "troubled youths" it was meant for never occurred to the him. Nor did it occur to him that the home was situated in one of the safest and most pleasant neighborhoods on the planet making its use as an after-school alternative decidedly unnecessary.

Barely a year after the project was initiated, the home was shut down having been declared a complete failure, and the property was put on the market to be sold. A few months after that, the house was purchased by another pair of buyers who wanted the space for somewhat different reasons. The men were not particularly creative with names and since there was a placard in front of the house already with a conveniently accurate name neatly painted on it in forest green, they let it stay and made preparations, with a young auburn-haired girl and blonde boy in tow, to turn the space into a different kind of home.

All things considered, the City of Twilight was a decent place to live. There were clubs and bars for those who enjoyed the nightlife, beaches and boardwalks for those who loved the sun, and even a design school that kept the city full of creative and expressive young people. But alas, as is true when mortals gather, the place had its fair amount of problems. At times, life brings tragedy, and often times, those left behind to pick up the pieces have no clue what to do once the dust settles and the thing that used to be their happiness is nothing but wreckage on the ground.

One such soul is half of the proprietary pair of the ill-fated Kingdom Hearts home. When his best friend, Jecht, and his wife were killed in a tragic boating accident involving a giant sea creature of some kind, their six-year-old son, Tidus, was left without parents, and the man named Auron was the only one left in Tidus' life to care for him. Auron had taken Jecht's death hard. They had been friends for all of their lives and Jecht was the only one who could bring a smile to Auron's face when the pressure of his bodyguard business got to be too much. Without Jecht in his life, it seemed as though there could be no happiness in the world for him.

It was Tidus who pulled Auron out of his spiraling decent into depression. The little boy was completely helpless and didn't understand why his parents were never coming home. Auron knew that he was making a piss-poor substitute for the love that had once existed in their family, and that was enough to get him to at least make an effort. Auron was not an overly emotional man, but kids needed emotion when growing up. Auron's solution: get another kid. Kids were extremely emotional and another child would definitely make up for his deficiency in the area. And if he could get a girl, then that would also solve the need of female influence in Tidus' life.

With this plan set, Auron had made his way to the local orphanage with the intent to pick the most emotional looking girl he could find. He walked out with a new daughter and a new purpose in life. Little Kairi had looked absolutely miserable in the place where she was living; like a flower wilting due to lack of sun. That was and accurate analogy too as the place was buried so deep in the city that it was a wonder if the kids there ever did see sunlight. Auron was not an overly emotional man, but he knew a travesty when he saw one, and as long as he had the power to fix such a thing or at least offer something better, he would do it.

And so, he called up his friend Cid who had a mind for business, good connections and an understanding of how to get around certain legalities, and together they had put together a place where kids could grow up happy despite the fact that their lives had at one point fallen apart. It had never occurred to them that the kids' life at their new home could fall apart as well, but it seemed that that was indeed what had happened. There was a decidedly dark cloud of gloom looming over the cheery yellow house, and there was no way to know if it would ever lift.

On a normal day, shouts and screams would be heard from any number of children of all ages running about the house, chasing each other with water guns, balls, sticks, jump ropes, and buckets. On a normal day, the yipping of tiny puppies would be heard as other children played and wrestled with them, scratching their ears and rubbing their bellies. On a normal day, the Kingdom Hearts Children's Home would be a place full of life and love and energy…unfortunately, this day was anything but normal.

The group of older kids had arrived home the previous night subdued and somber, and when the young ones discovered that one of their favorite 'big brothers' was missing, the cloud of gloom had settled over the house. Even the hyperactive puppies sensed the sorrow in the air and sat quietly in various places all over the house and furniture trying to figure out what had their humans so sad. The day was bright and warm. Summer vacation had just started a week prior, and the time was right for water fights and picnics by the lake, but there were few in the mood for such things after returning from the Destiny Islands.

"Man, this sucks." Tidus said, throwing a twig across the back lawn from his seat on the steps of the porch. "It's time to blitz but even thinking about it makes me wanna hurl."

"Our teams short one without Sora anyway, ya." Wakka said from beside him. "I don't think I can stomach ever looking for a re—"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence." The air temperature seemed to drop a few degrees at the icy voice that came from behind the two boys. "You will _not_ be replacing Sora on the team! He's coming back! Kairi says so, and I believe her." Selphie plopped herself on the porch between her two friends glaring at each of them before resting her elbows on her knees and head in her hands.

"Just you wait." She told them. "You'll see. He'll be back in no time. He's probably out looking for us even now." The boys shared a look over their younger friend's head. There was no point arguing with her. If Kairi was right, they'd find out soon enough, and if she wasn't…

Tidus mussed Selphie's hair with one hand then pulled her into a loose one-armed hug while Wakka tickled her from his side.

'No worries, ya?" he said, poking at her arm. "No one's ever gonna replace Sora. We'll wait as long as it takes." Selphie nodded in acceptance taking comfort in the presence of the other two. Sora was missing, Riku had shut himself off from everyone and Kairi was busy trying to draw him out. It was good to know that Tidus and Wakka were still there while her other friends dealt with other things. Kairi said to believe, and so she would, but it was a whole lot easier to do when she wasn't all alone.

o-oOo-o

Bed had never felt so good! I thought things had been done after leaving Marluxia, the sakura-psycho and his salon from hell, but before we could make it to Demyx and Axel's dorm, that Vexen guy showed up and dragged me off to a "photo shoot." He wanted to get shots of me while I was still "fresh" whatever that meant. It had taken almost an hour just to get the few shots he needed, and by the time he was done, I was just about ready to collapse from exhaustion and starvation. Of course that meant they weren't done with me.

After Vexen, Saïx popped out of nowhere to drag me off so that he could take my measurements and that is not an experience I'd like to ever repeat. I never thought I'd be in fear of losing limbs via measuring tape before. Next came registering me so I could get a key and introductions to some of the other random organization members who were floating around, an eventual trip to the dining hall, and then we finally made it to the room I was sharing with Axel and Demyx.

I immediately collapsed onto the futon that had apparently been prepared for me while I was making the transition to blond. It was only 6 in the evening when we got in, but I was bone weary and already fighting to maintain consciousness. I barely remember eating my ramen and onigiri before falling on my wonderful bed and blissfully fading into oblivion.

Voices woke me from a dream about a swarm of yipping black and white spots, and it took a moment for me to morph the sounds into language.

"Just seem to me like he should have some say in this. I mean, Xemnas pretty much snow plowed the kid into coming on board."

"I know. I never would have suggested this if I'd know the he had lost his friggin' memory."

"I can hear you, y'know?" I said rolling over to look at my roommates. Demyx was still sitting on his bead, hair sticking in every direction while Axel was sitting at his desk, a book open in front of him, hair pulled back in a ponytail and a pair of glasses propped on his nose.

"It's about time you woke up sleeping beauty. It's almost 10am." Axel said, rocking his chair back.

"No wonder I feel like the waking dead," I said trying to stretch out stiff muscles. 15 hours of sleep will do that to you."

We snagged you a couple of danishes from the dining hall if you're hungry," Axel said turning back to his text book, "but don't let Xemnas know you're eating junk. He'll castrate us all if we get his new poster boy chubby."

"I have a fast metabolism," I told them honing in on the danishes and shoving sweet, cream cheesy goodness into my mouth. "So can I ask you guys a question," I asked between bites.

"Shoot," Demyx said looking up at me from what looked like a pile of sheet music.

"What's with all the 'X's?" Axel stopped and looked over at me for a second before going back to his reading.

"That's all you, Dem," he said and proceeded to ignore us. Demyx didn't seem to mind.

"I'm guessing you're talking about our aliases and not the 'X's on the magazines pouring from under Axel's bed." I blushed, eyes snapping toward the red-head(and his bed) of their own will. Axel continued ignoring, but I did notice some extremely impolite images on covers that were indeed falling from under Axel's bed.

"You're free to borrow some if you'd like," Axel said, apparently paying more attention that he as letting on. My attention snapped back to Demyx who was of course laughing at me.

"Anyway," he began with a final chuckle, "Since Xemnas is in charge of this project group, he basically gets to make a lot of the rules especially the stuff about how the group is formed. He wants us all to have 'faces the belong only to the organization,'" this he said making air quotes with his fingers, "and so we all have uniforms and aliases."

"So who picks the names? No offense, but so far they all seem a little freaky."

"Well, Xemnas does. He usually takes one of our given names and scrambles it with an 'x' as sort of the mark that we belong to the organization. He even did it with his own name to show that we were all equals or something. Most of us have gotten to the point where we actually prefer our alias over our actual names."

"Really?" I asked incredulously. I couldn't imagine someone preferring a name like Demyx or Marluxia over something normal. "What are you're actual names?"

"Jackson Dyme Jr." Demyx said dryly quirking a small salute.

"Jared Ale," Axel said from his place at his desk.

"Oh," I said. I could see what they meant. Neither of their given names fit their personalities at all.

"You think, I've got it bad," Axel said looking up from his reading to give me a flashing smile, "you should meet my sister, Ginger." I blinked at him dumbly for a moment, my brain taking its time to connect his last name with her first name, but when it did, I collapsed into a fit of laughter so abrupt it almost made me drop the raspberry Danish I had been working on.

"See, Dem! That's the kind of reaction that joke is supposed to get!"

"Oh, Roxas doesn't count. He's probably forgotten that bad jokes aren't funny." I managed to pull myself together again after not very long, grinning broadly at Axel who grinned broadly right back.

"That was great," I told him.

"I know," he said, sticking his tongue out at Demyx.

"You know that this is ok with me, right?" I asked now that I had both of their attentions. "I may not know who I am, but I remember enough about amnesia from TV to get the gist of how this works. I'll basically be wondering around useless until I get my memories back anyway, so I'm fine with staying here and helping you guys out if I can while I wait." They eyed each other for a second before looking back at me.

"You sure about that?" Axel asked quirking an eyebrow.

"No point turning back now since I'm already blond," I said with a shrug. Axel just chuckled.

"We'll see how you feel after tomorrow," he said.

"Why? What happens tomorrow?"

"Right now it's the weekend so we're off," Demyx supplied, "But during the week, The Organization is mobilized. That means uniforms, meetings, and work on the show and set and everything. We have loft space in the design building and all twelve of us work in pretty close quarters every day."

"Yeah," Axel added, "and you haven't even met the worst of us. You think Marluxia's bad? Wait until you meet his girlfriend."

"Wait, _girl_friend?" I asked confused, "But I thought…" I trailed off not sure how to phrase what I thought. Marluxia hadn't stuck me as the most masculine male I'd ever met.

"That he was flaming hotter than the center of the sun?" Axel supplied. I nodded. "Most people think that. We were shocked as anyone when they hooked-up, but it works. Those two must be spawn of Satan himself." I shot a nervous glance at Demyx as Axel turned back to his book. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure about this whole modeling gig…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: **Heh heh heh… So next we get to see the "mobilized" Organization. That should be interesting. _I'm_ not even sure what to expect…

Show some love…**press the button!**


	4. Step 3: Where?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine! But man….so fun to play with!

**A/N:** Dude, for a crack fic this sure is being difficult to write…yet I have so much fun when it works out. Sorry for the wait.

-finem

Step into XIII

**Step 3: Where?**

_Roxas,_

_Dem and I have morning classes, but we'll be back around 2. Had a key made for you, it's on the desk. You're uniform's hanging on the closet door and there's food in the fridge if you get hungry. Meeting starts at 3 so be ready to go when we get there._

_Axel_

I blinked at the note for a few seconds before looking over at the closet where my "uniform" was supposed to be located. All I saw was a large black coat that looked way too hot for this time of year. That couldn't be what they were talking about…could it? Who would wear something like that in the middle of the summer? I poked around the room a little more hoping to find something other than the coat, and I did…sort of. Hung on the coat's hanger, tucked inside it's folds was a pair of black leather pants and a way too small looking black tank top. On the floor beneath the whole thing was a pair of black boots with more straps and zippers than could possibly be healthy for any article of clothing.

I stared dubiously at the ensemble getting another bad feeling about agreeing to work with these people. From the looks of their uniforms, they were either a bunch of emo Goths or psycho leather fetishists. Whichever, I was pretty sure I didn't want to get caught up in that sort of thing. But then again…I already was.

Apparently Axel's idea of food in the fridge was a slice of moldy cheese and a carton of milk dated…several months in the past. Right. Looked like I would be going out to find food on my own. The key card was just where Ax said it would be so I snagged it before wondering out in the borrowed pajamas I was wearing. Going out naked would have been better than putting on that bondage outfit.

It wasn't until I was out of the building and half way to the little convenience store they had take me to before that I realized a small problem with my plans. I was going shopping…but I didn't have any money. My stomach gave a stab of contempt at me and my idiocy upon this realization before I looked around desperately hoping for some spark of inspiration. Maybe Ax or Dem would be wondering around randomly or something…or maybe someone would see the look of desperation in my eyes and take pity. Hey, I may not remember a lot, but I know for sure that missing meals is not something I am willing to stand for.

I pulled my best lost-puppy look counting on the twinkle of my innocent eyes to call out like a beacon to some unwitting fool, but it looked like there were no takers. Of all places to be jaded! You'd think a freakin' design school would have more bleeding hearts.

Giving up on my first plan, I was just about to head back to the room to investigate how deep the mold on that cheese went when I suddenly found myself confronted with a rather large and solid…chest.

"Ow…" I whine—I mean…stated with dignity looking up at the guy I'd run into.

"Hey, where're you going," he said in a voice that sounded something like a cross between a beach bum and a podiatrist. Don't ask me how that makes sense. He smiled down at me with pearly whites from a face that was covered with scars. His hair was black, streaked with white, pulled back into a long ponytail and from that alone I could tell that he was another on of the illustrious attendants of the Academy.

"I saw you standing over here, looking pretty lost," he said crossing surprisingly thin arms over that ridiculous chest of his. "You new around here?"

"Pretty much," I said shrugging. Maybe my luck hadn't run out after all. He eyed me closely for a moment with one eye—as the other was covered with a black eye patch—before standing back with a satisfied smirk.

"Let me buy you a pickle," he told me, and I'll admit…I had completely not been expecting that.

"Uh…ok?" Of course I accepted. Even if it was just a pickle, pickles still counted as food. "You think I could get some meat and bread with that? Maybe a couple slices of tomato, some lettuce…?" The guy looked down at me and smirked…before tripping over a curb and falling flat on his face into a planter full of bushes. That had to hurt.

He regained his feet quickly, jumping up and straightening his navy sleeveless top and brushing off his black jeans. He only paused for an awkward moment before continuing on as if nothing had happened.

Ok…

"You're funny kid," he said with a careless flick of his hair as if he didn't notice the small bleeding gash on his cheek. Guess I knew where all those scars came from. "I'm Braig by the way. What's your name?"

"Sora," I told him and was a little surprised at how easily the name came to my lips. Axel and Demyx called me Roxas and so had everyone else I met since getting here. I barely even remember Xemnas saying that he though Sora would be a good name for me. Weird…

"Alright, Sora," Braig was still talking. "I'll get you that pickle and all that other stuff, but I'll need your help on a bit of a project for the next couple of hours." I looked up at the large clock tower in the quad where we were. It was just after 10.

"I need to be done by like 1:30," I told him, "and you'll have to buy me lunch." He smiled down at me and winked…or maybe he just blinked. It's hard to tell the difference when you can only see one eye.

"You've got yourself a deal kid," he told me ushering me towards the schools food court area. It occurred to me that I maybe shouldn't be putting my trust into a complete stranger this way, but then again…I had already done a lot of that right? And besides—I watched as he hopped around cursing after somehow slamming his arm against a vending machine—this Braig guy seemed more of a danger to himself that he was to me.

o-oOo-o

"Riku, you've gotta come out of your room sometime," Kairi said sitting next to the older boy who was sitting at his window looking out over the lawn where the rest of the children of the Kingdom Hearts Home were playing in the sunshine. Despite the bright light and laughter that rang through the day, Riku's heart felt like lead in his chest. Everything weighed him down with the more time that passed without news about Sora. They had already passed the 48 hour mark, and he knew that the longer Sora

was missing, the less likely he would ever be found.

"Everyone's worried about you, y'know?" Kairi tried again to reach him. "You can't keep blaming yourself like this. Sora wouldn't want you to—"

"How would you know what Sora wants Kairi?" he said in a voice that was flat and uncaring. "He's not here to say is he?"

"I know that he would be laughing in your face for how you're acting!" She snapped hoping that her anger would spark something in her friend. Any emotion at all would be a step in the right direction as Riku had been all but lifeless since they had gotten back on Saturday. He just continued staring out of his window looking like his soul was spiraling away into a swirling abyss.

"Fine," she said standing to leave the room. "I'm not gonna keep pestering you. _I_ still believe that Sora's coming back to us, and I'm going to keep believing that until the day he does, but I hope you'll consider this. If he doesn't come back, and you really do believe that this is your fault, then you owe it to him to live _for_ him, Riku. How do I know that he wouldn't want you wallow in angst like you're doing? Because I know Sora you idiot, and so do you. So when you're ready to suck it up and face the world again, we'll be waiting. And when Sora come home, all of the rest of us are going to make sure to tell him how you holed up and wasted away instead of being there to look after the others like we always have. Maybe if you could pull your head out of your angst corner for a few seconds, you'd realize that you're not the only person suffering right now, jerk!"

Kairi slammed the door as she exited and Riku looked up, a little surprised, a little hurt. He knew that she was right, but he just wasn't ready yet. He couldn't stand the idea of just moving on without Sora; continuing life without Sora; learning how to live in a world without Sora. It wasn't a thought he could process yet, so he'd give it couple more days. Maybe if he could be like Kairi and just believe that their friend would come back, it would be easier. He would have to figure out something, because he had no clue how he was supposed to go back to normal when, without Sora, things would never be normal again.

o-oOo-o

1:27pm

That Braig guy…is an idiot, but lucky for me, he's also an idiot who keeps his word. Turns out that the 'help' that he wanted was some—believe it or not—modeling. This time for drawing purposes apparently, but he made sure to use every possible opportunity to hit on me while he was at it. I ignored him of course because that's what you do with idiots, but I also still managed to have a lot of fun. He wanted me to stand in a lot of dramatic poses holding a couple broken broomsticks as if they were weapons or something. Between the broomsticks and the fact that I was still in my PJs, I felt like a complete douche. Probably because of that, I was really impressed when I saw the end results of what Braig had come up with from our little drawing session.

It was me, duh, but instead of a broomsticks, I could see roughed in lines for some pretty wicked looking swords, and instead of my baggy PJs, there were a bunch of preliminary lines for a few different outfits. We'd managed about 5 drawings total, but mainly he had done the body positions and stuff, leaving details for later I guess.

"Well, thanks for all of your help, Sora," he told me as we stood in line for pizza. "Maybe we can do this again sometime. I'll buy you another pickle and all that other crazy stuff you like to have with 'em." I eyed him skeptically wondering if he was being serious or pulling my leg. Disturbing thing is…I really couldn't tell.

"I'm actually not gonna be around that long. I'm just helping some friends out for the next couple of weeks and then I'll be heading home…I hope." I realized that I was putting a lot of stock into the vague possibility that my memories would return on their own without me helping them along any. That was a big maybe, but it could wait. For now I needed to get back.

I snagged the last four slices of sausage mushroom pizza and stepped to the side while Braig paid. Maybe I'd model for him again tomorrow if it meant free meals. I had been pretty fun.

"Then maybe we can meet again sometime tomorrow under less…formal circumstances." He said this in a very suggestive tone that might have been more effective on a more receptive audience. It also didn't help that as he tried to lean suavely against the counter he missed and cracked his head against the edge. That kinda ruins the mood.

"Um…are you ok?" I asked staring at the small pool of blood that seemed to be forming near his head.

"I'm good!" he called up to me. "You have someplace to be now, right? Go ahead, I'll be fine!" I looked down at him skeptically again. "Go on!" He said, still from the ground, and I backed away from him slowly, munching on my pizza as I finally turned to head back to the dorm I shared with Axel and Demyx. Like I said…the guy's an idiot.

o-oOo-o

"Roxie, we're home!" Demyx crowed as he and Axel both walked through the door backpacks slung over their shoulders.. "Have you been on your best behavior while we were gone?" I looked up from the magazine I'd been flipping through quirking an eyebrow at my dirty blond roommate and squeaking—in a very manly fashion—when he pounced on me from across the room.

"We get to play with everyone today!" he said pinching my cheeks into submission. "Are you ready Roxie? Are you?!?"

"I'm sure he'd answer if he could breath," Axel said, bless him. Demyx promptly removed himself from me once again allowing that wonderful thing called oxygen to flow into my lungs.

"Hey! Your hair's already fixed and everything," Dem said looking at me. "Did you visit Marly or something?" I looked into the mirror on the back of the closed door noticing that my hair was actually back in the crazy up swept do it had been in that first eventful day.

"Uh…I just kinda slept on that side of my head," I told them honestly. There was a beat of silence, then both of them fell over laughing. Funny guys.

The next half hour was…memorable. I don't think I've ever seen such a miraculous transformation in my life as what Ax and Dem did to themselves. I was informed that yes, the goth fetish get up was indeed the uniform I was supposed to wear, and both Axel and Demyx pulled out matching coats, pants, shirts, and boots. We put on everything but the coats and by the time we were done I was convinced that we'd be collecting whips, chains and collars at this "meeting" we were going to before heading to the nearest S&M bar.

I groaned flopping down onto my futon hoping that I was just being too paranoid. Then Demyx was assaulting my head with some weird smelling gell stuff as he instructed me to lay on the side of my head again to "firm up those spikes" before vanishing into the bathroom with Axel. I'm really not sure how they managed that. Their bathroom's a shoebox.

"So what have you been up to while we were gone?" Axel called conversationally, mellow as usual.

"Not much. Met some guy who offered me food in exchange for modeling for him," I told them, closing my eyes just because. There was a slight pause before:

"You didn't ditch us for a free meal did you, man?" Axel called, and I chuckled because he was saying it lightly but I could tell he was at least a little serious.

"Naw, it would take more than a pickle and a slice of pizza to sway my loyalties. Had there been sea-salt ice-cream involved though…" I paused as something in my brain clicked but escaped before I could get a good grip on it. Apparently I love sea-salt ice-cream, and something about that seemed to want to trigger a memory.

"So then what kind of modeling did you end up doing?" Demyx called breaking into my thoughts.

"Just stood around posing for him while he sketched me. I didn't even have to change out of my pajamas." We fell into silence then as the two in the bathroom continued doing…whatever they were doing, and I think I might have even dozed a little. All I know is that some time passed and then I suddenly felt a weight drop across my legs and I looked up at two complete strangers.

Demyx, whose hair was usually a bit of a mess all over his head, falling in his face or tied back in a short tail, was now sporting something that actually looked worthy of a fashion design student. His longer hair was swept up, trailing back to hang against his neck, stopping just above his shoulders, leaving the saved sides completely exposed. A few strands were left to hang alluringly in his face, and he adjusted one out of his eye as he smirked down at me. Yes, smirked! Demyx didn't smirk like that!

And then there was Axel. The whole time I knew him he'd worn his hair in a rather flat low ponytail. He had bangs too but otherwise, there was nothing remarkable about his hair. Now it was standing in a way that could not possibly be supported by the laws of physics, fanning out behind him like tamed fire. The mellow attitude was gone too, replaced by something that just seemed…sharper I guess. I don't know, there was something more calculating about the way he looked at me, same for Demyx. His eyes were colder now; had lost the warm humor that I had gotten used to over the past few days.

"Guys?" I asked, doubting what I was seeing.

"It's time to meet the rest of the Organization Number XIII," Demyx said smiling down at me cruelly. All I could do was blink up at them dumbfounded…then they both burst into laughter and I felt like Demyx had just gotten off of my chest again. Ah sweet sweet oxygen.

"You should have seen your face, man," Axel said smacking my arm and smiling.

"Wha-what was that?" I asked still trying to get my brain to catch up with events yet again.

"The real Demyx and Axel," Dem told me. "We told you that everyone in the Organization has an alias that belongs to the Organization alone, well, we might've forgotten to mention that the alias comes complete with an alter-ego."

"Alter-ego? So you're telling me that this meetings just gonna be some kind of real life role-playing thing?"

"Sort of," Axel said, "except some of us are role playing and some aren't…and it's not always easy to know when who's doing what…if that makes sense."

"So should I come up with one too?" I asked, feeling at my hair to make sure it was in order.

"If you want kid," Axel smirked at me zipping up his jacket, "but if you do, you're got about 10 minutes to figure it out." And that was that. I pulled on the last of my uniform, mimicking the other two as they pulled up their hoods to hide their heads and faces.

"No one outside of the Organization knows how many of us there are or who's in the project group," Demyx explained. "Xemnas' idea." It was really weird hearing Dem's voice coming out of the surprisingly dark and vacuous hole where his face should have been, but I was actually getting pretty used to all of the weirdness.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to the Organization's studio space. The leather was surprisingly not hot despite the afternoon sun, and I noted the buzz of excitement the followed in our wake as students caught side of us. Not exactly a difficult thing to do.

We entered the large building and climbed some stairs. It was almost three and it looked like we were right on time. I had decided that haughty was the right personality for Roxas. I seemed to be a fairly upbeat friendly kind of guy, so I wanted to be a little cooler if I was supposed to be a model. I'd been practicing my cooler haughtier personality the whole way over to the studio—not that anyone could see me—and had it firmly in place as we entered the room. It was pitch black.

My cool promptly ran away. Apparently I'm afraid of the dark.

I scooted a bit closer to Demyx who was standing beside me and I felt his shoulder rise and fall a little with laughter.

"The light'll come on in a sec," he whispered, "Then Xemnas will come in, tell us to take off our hoods and layout the agenda for the day." I nodded even thought I was pretty sure no one could see me.

Somewhere outside, the clock tower chimed three times, and as the last gong faded into silence, the lights in the room were powered on, revealing eleven other cloaked figures standing around the perimeter of the room, hoods hiding their faces. There was the echoing sound of a door opening and my eyes were drawn to the metal spiral staircase that lead up to a second level of the studio.

Descending from the stairs was Xemnas, just as creepy as I remembered. He came down at a leisurely pace taking in the whole room as he did. He walked into the center of the room and I could see his lips twisting in an angry grimace.

"De-cowl," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Reveal to me who it is that disrupts the perfection that we have finally reached." It took me a second, but I realized that there were only twelve of us present and that there were supposed to be thirteen. I joined the others in pulling my hood from my head, remembering at the last second to pull on my haughty mask.

I looked around to room to see the faces of the rest of the Organization. I recognized the other three guys from that first day, then a bunch of people that I didn't know, then…wait a second…"

"You!" a very familiar eye-patched idiot shouted just as Xemnas began asking where Marluxia was. After a beat of awkward silence in which Xemnas glared at Braig, one of the side doors slammed open to reveal Marluxia…a very out of uniform Marluxia. I'll say this…everything I said about the Organization uniforms being for leather fetishists, I take back. I realize now that it is very untrue. I must have lived a very sheltered life.

Marluxia was standing there dressed in a long leather…dress…thing. The back of it at least looked like a black leather gown, but the front half of the skirt was missing revealing his long shapely legs. The upper part was a corset thing made of blood red patent leather that tied in the front with black lace. Under it he wore a pair of shorts that were so short and form fitting I had to look away blushing. Completing the ensemble were a pair of thigh high stiletto boots, black leather gloves that reached his upper arms, and a black collar with a red heart shaped crystal hanging from it.

"Apologies, Superior," he said smirking perfectly glossed lips and gazing steadily from kohl darkened lashes. "I hope I didn't miss anything…important."

The room was dead silent staring at him and what he was wearing and I get the distinct feeling that people were about to start diving for cover. I felt a small tug on my sleeve as Axel started pulling me away, Demyx moving along with us.

"Where is your uniform Number XI?" the guy with the X on his face snarled as Xemnas seemed to have gone apoplectic in fury. Heh…didn't even know I knew that word.

"I think this is way better than these moronic jackets," a blonde girl with bangs that looked moor like antennae said stepping forward to rub a palm against Marluxia's leather clad chest. She was considerably shorter than Marluxia, especially with the heels, but he leaded down as she stood on her toes and they shared a long and lingering kiss before pulling away from each other, both looking back at Xemnas, challenge clear in their eyes. So she was the girlfriend. Oddly enough, they looked really good together.

"What's the matter, Frankie?" Marluxia said in a voice so full of self-importance it made me and everyone else in the room cringe. "Can't handle that one of your own can out-do you in leather work? Everyone here knows who _should_ be in charge of this project group."

And that's when all hell broke loose…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:**

Oh no you didn't Marly! Jeez! Even in this universe he can't help but try to usurp! Whatever. Drop a line if you liked it!

**Review! Review! Review!**


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